Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Jess passed the bar! Oh, you can read and you saw that in the title? Great, well, good for you! Shoot, you must have passed the bar too, with brains like that.

It's no small feat to pass the Massachusetts bar exam, but she did it on the first attempt and now she's a lawyer!

Hopefully, this will be the key that unlocks the ultimate job potential for her, because she definitely deserves it.

And I'm still job speed dating.

Let me back up my train of thought for you...Jess passed the BAR. And we're celebrating with champagne and such...almost like we're at a BAR...and we're both looking for jobs...imagine if looking for a job was like going out at a bar or club to meet someone?! That would be ridiculous, and yet on top of being relieved that job searches aren't actually like that, why am I also somewhat dismayed...disappointed, even? I'll tell you why: Because deep down, we all know that sitting across the table from a potential employer, discussing your likes and dislikes and what is important to you in an employment relationship, OVER HOT TODDYS, would be fun. Maybe now I understand what it was like trying to get a job in the '60's (as a dude of course), Don Draper style, with all the drinking and socializing in what appears to be a relatively workless environment. Or maybe I watch too much Mad Men.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

We attended the Lantern Parade at Jamaica Pond this past weekend. Apparently, it's something that was started in 1984 by Spontaneous Celebrations. It has roots in both Japanese and Dutch traditions of lantern making and general autumn merriment. I would also venture a guess that it has something to do with the general Celtic and/or pagan symbolism of collectively and individually taking the light of summer into the darkness of winter. They used bonfires for such activity, but that's just not safe in a city, and certainly not kid-friendly (which the lantern parade is...whether it's adult friendly is still up for debate as my ovaries shriveled up several times).

But, nevertheless, the sunset and the lanterns were beautiful, as always, and the apple cider was delicious! Oh! And Jess found $10! NO, really!

And now, appropriately, I am going to watch Halloween 3. I can already tell it's going to be a masterpiece, but I'm willing to endure scads of incorrect information and a few low-budget special effects and bad acting just because it's that time of year. And because I have my Baby Ruths.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Hey, check out the top right of the blog.Cool. Didn't know if you saw it on your own, so I thought I'd help you out. It's funny stuff to read while you're bored at work, the "blog" where I post short stories that I've written! Comments and feedback are welcome! Also, I plan on posting my funny novel on there at some point, too, so be on the lookout!

Disclaimer: If you're caught laughing (which you will be), blame it on the K cups.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

When Jess and I were on our honeymoon, any thoughts or feelings related to our unemployment were completely drowned by the deliciousness of Sonoma Valley wines and left at the bottom of one of the many San Francisco hills. Instead, we were rightfully and blissfully focused on being honeymooners.

At each winery we went to, we tasted amazing wines. I took about a thousand pictures and made Jess take a video with our new Flip camera. I couldn't take pictures and videos simultaneously, so Jess was the obvious candidate for H-moon Videographer. Plus, the one time I did take a video myself, it was at a gas station. Jess was cleaning up the gas she spilled on her toe, and I wanted to point out the horses that were across the parking lot. I went on about the horses...and you couldn't even see them on the video. Then I almost got hit by a MAC truck, so there was running and a lot of out-of-focus-ery that made for a good ol' queasy time.

(Side note: To anyone considering buying a Flip: Files are in mp4 format and you can't burn your own DVDs. Screw you, Flip people! Why can't I have the rights to something I filmed myself? Why do I have to pay $20 for you to burn me a DVD? Please tell me that comes with a side of fries at least! I will have you know, however, that the Flip was fun during the honeymoon, and it was cool to hook it up to a high def TV and watch the videos post-H moon.)

As the trip progressed, Jess grew tired of me always saying "ooo! take a veeedeo!" and pulling on her sleeve. Especially when I did it every time our food came when we were out to eat. I ask her to take a video and as she did, I would eat. There are a lot of videos of me eating. What a jerk.

Anyway, at each winery, we soon discovered that telling folks we were on our honeymoon often resulted in generously waived tasting fees, and in one case at Cline Cellars, a good-hearted gift of a free bottle of zinfandel. It was spectacular. It got to the point where, towards the end of the trip, we were at a winery (I won't name any names...*Ravenswood* cough cough), told them we were on our honeymoon, they didn't give us the H-moon discount, and we were disappointed.

My point is this: If you're unemployed and you have a friend, there is a chance that you too can benefit from the H-moon discount. If you were recently married, that's an added bonus, but if not, grab that friend and head to the store or the circus or the fair or a car dealership or somewhere! Why? Because you're on your honeymoon. And you should get a discount. Unless you're at Ravenswood.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

...and the verdict is: You hate most of these songs. Good for you! Way to break free!

I developed a complicated (not really) scale and awesome (to me) scoring system where all the "love its" got 4 points, the "tolerate its" got 3, the "hate its" got 2 points, and the "never heard its" got 1 point each. Then I added up each song's "score." Then based on the scale I developed for what each score means (I can't tell you how I did it...it's magic...magic that makes you fall asleep), I determined that you, as a collective:

Don't know Strokin' (neither do I ....thanks "The Knot" for putting a totally made up song on your "must play" list)

The one song that had incredibly interesting results: the YMCA. You all know the song, and 2 of you tolerate it. The rest of you are almost equally split between love it and hate it. Clearly a love/hate relationship going on there. Makes me wonder if those of you who hate it really do love it deep down. I know I couldn't decide, and I knew the answer wasn't going to be tolerate it. Huh.

And no, none of these were played at my and Jess's wedding. In fact, they were all on the "do not play" list (except for the YMCA. We had a special agreement with the DJ that if people kept on requesting this type of song, then she could play the YMCA as a sort of concession. Why the Y? Because it's the one we dislike the least -- AND because we were once the Village People for Halloween with some friends:

As you can see, I was the construction worker. My hat, which was made of the most flimsy hat-able material known to man, was labeled "hard hat." How do you top that? [see this month's poll].Anyway, it didn't matter because much like you guys, no one requested these songs, which was just fantastic for us).